Sizing Up the Enemy
by StBridget
Summary: Danny introduces Grace to Steve. It goes better than expected. Telling Rachel doesn't. AU Vampire!Steve Werewolf!Danny


**Hawaii Five-0 is property of CBS and its creators.  
**

 **Warning for racial slurs and prejudice against vampires.**

 **A/N: Another heavy one, but another one necessary to the development of Danny and Steve's relationship. Bear with me. Next one will most likely be the mating, and that will be both happy and smutty. :)**

Grace ran out to greet Danny as soon as the Camaro pulled up to the house (mansion, really) where she lived with her mother and her mother's mate (not Danny, something he was very bitter about. It was always "too soon" with him, but she and Stan were mated within a month of meeting). Grace gave Danny a huge hug. "Hey, Danno, what are we doing today?"

Danny picked her up and swung her around. "Hey, Monkey. I thought we'd get shave ice, how does that sound?" He said it casually, making sure it didn't sound like it was anything out of the ordinary. In reality, it was a very big deal; Danny was going to introduce Grace to Steve, and he had no idea how it would go. He hadn't cleared it with his ex, and Danny knew she'd throw a fit if (when) she found out. Plus, he had no idea how Grace would react; she hadn't been raised to have a very high opinion of vampires. Not that Danny could blame her—he didn't have a very high opinion of them either until he met Steve.

Danny made the usual conversation with Grace—how school was, how her mother was (not that Danny really cared), how Step-Stan was (Danny cared even less), how her rabbit Mr. Hoppy was—but he barely heard the answers. He was overcome with jitters the entire way, fingers tapping out a nervous rhythm on the steering wheel the whole time.

Grace made a beeline for Kamekona's shrimp truck as soon as they arrived, hopping out practically before Danny had the engine off, but Danny stopped her. "Monkey, wait."

Grace obediently stopped and waited for her father. Danny took her hand. "I promise, we'll get shave ice in a minute, but first there's someone I want you to meet." He led her to the table where Steve was waiting for them and stopped before the other man. "Grace, I want you to meet Steve. Steve, this is my daughter, Grace."

Steve rose and held out his hand to Grace. "Pleased to meet you, Grace."

Grace didn't take the offered hand. "Are you the filthy bloodsucker Danno's been slumming with?"

Danny was scandalized. "Grace! That's no way to speak to my friend!"

Grace turned to look at him. "Why not? That's what Mommy says."

"Your mother is wrong," Danny said, firmly. "Steve's a very nice person who just happens to be a vampire."

"It's okay—I called your dad an overgrown hairball when we met," Steve said, confidentially.

"Steven, not helping!" Danny hissed.

Not surprisingly, Grace took offense at that. "You take that back! Danno is not an overgrown hairball!"

"I know that now," Steve said, "but I didn't then."

Danny hastened to smooth things over. "What Steve means, is he didn't know any better, so he made a snap judgment based on what he'd heard. But it was wrong, which just goes to show you can't believe everything you're told, _right, Steven_?"

"Right," Steve agreed, quickly.

Grace didn't look convinced. "So, you don't suck blood?"

"Only pig's blood," Steve assured her.

"And you're not going to turn Danno into your slave for eternity?"

Steve paused. Danny knew why. That was tricky. Steve would never make Danny a slave, but if they bonded, they would be attached as long as they lived, and that could be a very long time—the bond extended life nearly indefinitely. Danny knew Steve couldn't tell Grace that, but the vampire couldn't outright deny it, either.

Fortunately, Danny came to his rescue. "Steve's not going to make me do anything I don't want to," he said, firmly. There. That sidestepped the issue nicely. He decided it was time to shift Grace's focus away from Steve. "How about that shave ice?"

"Okay." Grace ran off towards the truck. Danny moved to follow.

"Get me one, too," Steve said. "Pineapple."

Danny made a face. "You and Grace. I'd say you're a bad influence on her, but you just met. I don't know how you eat that stuff. It's not natural. You folks are obsessed with it. You even put it on your pizza. If you ate pizza, I bet you would to." At least ranting was distracting him from the situation at hand.

"Just get it," Steve said.

Danny made another face before trailing after his daughter. They were soon back, Grace happily licking at a large pineapple shaved ice. Danny handed a smaller one to Steve, keeping a cherry one for himself.

Grace paused in mid-lick to watch Steve eat his. "I didn't know vampires liked shave ice. I thought they only drank blood." She sounded curious, though, not hostile, which was a big improvement.

"I can eat. It just doesn't taste like much, at least for the most part," Steve explained. "Shave ice I really like, though. It's nice and cool going down, and the pineapple's tart, so I can actually taste it. Strong flavors are easier to taste."

Grace considered that. "I like shave ice, too," she declared, before going back to her treat.

Danny breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe this was going to work out.

Grace continued to warm up to Steve as the afternoon wore on. He regaled her with tales of surfing ("Will you teach me?" "Sure." "Absolutely not. You are not teaching my daughter to surf, Steven.") and stories about Hawaii throughout history, made even better by the fact that'd he actually been there for many of them.

"I didn't know you were here for Pearl Harbor," Danny said after one such account.

"Yep," Steve confirmed. "That's where I met Steve McGarrett. The real one, I mean. He went down with the Arizona, and I took his name to honor him. Got to know his son, Jack, too. That's actually who owned the house where I live."

"Can I see your house?" Grace asked.

"Sure," Steve replied. "I think you'll like it. It even has a private beach."

Grace's eyes lit up. "Cool! Can we go swimming?"

"Sure."

"Not today," Danny said. "You didn't bring your suit. Besides, it's time to go. Your mother will be upset if you're late." It was going to be bad enough when Rachel found out Danny introduced Grace to Steve against her express orders; he didn't want to add more fuel to the fire.

Grace looked disappointed. "You can come the next time Danny has you for the weekend," Steve said.

"I'd really like that," Grace said, enthusiastically.

"That's not going to happen if we're late, and your mom doesn't let me see you again." Danny said it lightly, but he knew it was a very real possibility, not because he was late, but because Rachel would have a cow with Grace meeting Steve once, let alone multiple times. Danny was very, very glad Grace and Steve were getting along, but, frankly, that was the least of his problems. The worst was yet to come. Well, no sense putting it off. "Say goodbye, Grace."

"Goodbye, Uncle Steve." Danny wasn't sure when Steve had gone from mortal enemy to "Uncle Steve", but it was better than he'd hoped for. It would just inflame Rachel more, though. Best not to dwell on it.

Danny was even more tense on the drive back to Rachel's than he had been on the way to Kamekona's, and for good reason. Children were flexible; it didn't take much to change their mind. Adults were a different story. One good report wasn't going to change a lifetime of hatred. He wasn't going to keep it from his ex-wife, though. He made a decision early on in his relationship with Steve that he would be open about it, no matter what the consequences, even if it threatened his time with his daughter. Danny just hoped it wouldn't come to that.

Danny walked Grace up to the door of the Step-Stan's house. He figured it was better to do this in person than get yelled at over the phone, and it did no good to postpone the inevitable.

Rachel glared at Danny. "You're late."

"Sorry, we lost track of time," Danny said. _Coward_ his inner voice said.

Grace was less guarded. "Uncle Steve was telling us all about Pearl Harbor. Did you know he was there? That's so cool!"

Rachel raised a single eyebrow. It said more than words ever could. "Uncle Steve?"

"Uh-huh," Grace confirmed. "You were wrong about him. He's not a filthy bloodsucker. He's really nice, and he likes pineapple shave ice."

"I'm sure he is," Rachel said, but her tone rang false. Clearly, she didn't think Steve was a nice guy at all. She probably thought he'd done some sort of mind trick to get Grace to like him. "Grace, honey, why don't you go get ready for dinner while Daniel and I talk?"

"Okay."

Rachel waited until Grace disappeared up the stairs to round on Danny. "Just what do were you thinking introducing _my daughter_ to that _monster_?"

Danny flinched but stood his ground. "Steve is not a monster. And I was thinking that I wanted to introduce the two most important people in my life."

"I don't see how you can possibly have feelings for that abomination. Furthermore, I expressly forbid you from letting that _creature_ anywhere near Grace."

"I'm not hiding my relationship with Steve." Danny said. "If I'm spending time with both of them, Grace needs to get used to him."

"Just what makes you think you'll be spending time with both of them?"

Danny really hoped she wouldn't go there. "Rachel. . ."

"Don't 'Rachel' me," she snapped. "I'm serious, Daniel. If you're going to spend time with an inhuman leech, you're not spending time with Grace."

"You can't do that!" Danny exclaimed.

"I think you'll find that I most certainly can." Rachel's voice was cold as ice.

"I'll fight you."

"You do that," Rachel said. "I'm sure most judges aren't going to be sympathetic to exposing an innocent child to a bloodthirsty walking corpse."

"Rachel, please reconsider," Danny begged.

"No. This conversation is over." With that, Rachel slammed the door in Danny's face.

Dejected, Danny got back into his car and drove to Steve's. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't lose Grace, but he couldn't lose Steve, either. He wasn't surprised, but it was definitely a blow. He knew dating a vampire wouldn't be easy. This was just another hurdle they'd have to get over.

Steve seemed to be waiting for Danny. The vampire had the door open before Danny even reached the porch. "How'd it go?" Steve asked.

Danny's shoulders slumped. "About as well as could be expected."

"That bad, huh?" Steve said, sympathetically.

"Worse. She threatened to take Grace away from me if I kept seeing you." He brushed past Steve and threw himself on the couch.

Steve closed the door but didn't follow. He stood, facing Danny, face hard. "I understand. I'm sorry it's come to this. I was hoping we could work this out, but I guess not."

Danny looked at Steve, aghast. "Wait, are you breaking up with me?"

"I thought you were breaking up with me," Steve said.

Danny looked horrified. "Why would I do that?"

"Grace is the most important person in the world to you," Steve said. "I know you can't live without her."

Danny stood up, crowding into Steve's personal space. "What makes you think I can live without you?"

Steve didn't back down. "Simple. She's your daughter. I'm just a 'filthy bloodsucker'. I always knew you'd choose her if it came down to it."

"You're not a filthy bloodsucker," Danny said. "Any fool can see that."

"According to Rachel I am, apparently," Steve said, tone flat.

"Not according to me!" Danny began pacing, arms waving agitatedly. "Stop talking like that. I'm not choosing anybody!"

"You'll lose Grace," Steve pointed out.

"No, I won't," Danny insisted.

"Rachel has custody. How are you going to stop her?" Steve asked.

Danny didn't want to, couldn't admit Steve was probably right. "I'll think of something." The werewolf flung himself at the vampire, wrapping his arms around the taller man, clinging desperately to him. "I can't lose you. I can't lose either one of you." The tears Danny had been fighting overflowed, and the detective sobbed into his lover's chest. "It's going to work out. It _has_ too."

Steve held Danny, murmuring soothing noises neither one believed. Danny kept sobbing, repeating the phrase to himself. It was going to work out. It just had to.

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A/N: Got a little more of Steve's backstory in. Wish I could have done it earlier, but at least I'm getting to it now.


End file.
